The golf swing is notoriously difficult for a beginner to learn and the average golfer to maintain. The single shafted conventional golf club is grasped with both hands together, one below the other, and can easily be manipulated by pronation and supination (rolling) of the wrists and arms virtually in the same manner as if the club were grasped with either hand alone. The pronation and supination, in the hands of a beginner or average golfer, result in the club face meeting the ball at various angles, causing frequently improperly hit shots. This invention virtually eliminates this uncontrolled motion with the result that the club face remains basically square throughout the swing.
Inasmuch as most club grips are merely round in section, one of the more common problems is the difficulty in properly aligning the club and positioning the hands and fingers on the club to maintain the club face in alignment, in the absence of an index means on the handle. When the club is properly gripped, the wrist must be cocked in a very severe and unnatural position so that the club shaft and the left arm are lying in a parallel relation. This extra strain, which is thrown on the wrist, makes it more difficult to attain a uniform or what is commonly called an "in the groove swing." One tendency, due to this difficulty, is for the player to grip the club too tightly, thus putting the muscles under tension and interfering with control of the direction and speed of the club which he is usually capable of exercising.
The present invention alleviates these problems in providing an improved handle for a putter that enables the club to be swung in the manner of a pendulum, by using a rotatable handle disposed at the upper end of the shaft, disposed in a parallel relation to the face of the club.
I am quite aware that others have provided pendulum type putters, and examples are the Hartmeister U.S. Pat. No. 3,245,686 entitled "Golf Club With T-Shaped Handgrip," and the Kozub U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,323 entitled "Pendulum Putter." Both of these prior art devices have distinct disadvantages, however, with the configuration of the Hartmeister device being such that his club is difficult to insert into a golf bag, and the Kozub patent utilizes an upper support member that is hard for some golfers to grasp in a comfortable and effective manner.
It was to overcome the disadvantages of devices such as these that the present invention was evolved.